Tag Archive: Frozen

It’s always disappointing to see a film with a great premise crash and burn before your very eyes. As a big fan of monster movies and creature features, I thought that Digging up the Marrow had some potential. But aside from a few memorable scares, this is a film that seems to exist solely to increase director Adam Green’s brand. If you’ve never heard of Green before this movie, you’re likely to learn a lot about him in the film’s 98 minute runtime. By playing himself, Green makes sure that every single one of his previous projects is mentioned onscreen several times. You’ll hear him talk about Hatchet, Frozen and especially his horror/comedy TV show, Holliston. It’s incredibly frustrating because if Green had spent more time on the monsters and less time on promotion, this could have been a solid horror flick.

The film begins with a shameless introduction that describes Green’s production company, something that has little to no impact on the rest of the film. But once Green and his cinematographer Will Barratt meet with the subject of their “documentary”, things actually get somewhat interesting. William Dekker (Ray Wise) claims to have found an entrance to something he calls The Marrow, or an underground civilization where all monsters live. Occasionally he spots these monsters roaming around outside this entrance and he wants Green and Barratt to document his findings. Having always hoped for the existence of monsters to be real, Green is initially optimistic. But when they begin snooping a little too closely, things turn from fun to deadly.

Ray Wise is great as William Dekker, making this potentially crazy kook feel genuinely believable. The scenes where he describes some of the creatures that he has seen are a highlight, as are any of the scenes where we actually see a monster. The creature effects are pretty hit and miss, but seeing the monsters is a lot of fun and they provide a few genuinely good scares. But, unfortunately, even though the monsters are the main attraction, they only receive a few minutes of screen time. The majority of the film is spent with Green (in a terrible performance), juggling his many different projects while also trying to decide if Dekker is actually telling the truth. The ending of the film is very uninspired, but it’s the constant self-promotion by Green that really bogs the film down. The decision to have numerous characters wear clothing that displays his other projects may have been done to create realism, but it’s very distracting and I think Green may have had other intentions in mind. Maybe that’s just me being cynical, but Digging up the Marrow is a waste of a fun horror premise regardless. It feels less like a horror movie and more like a feature length Adam Green commercial.

The Academy Awards are this Sunday night and they are bound to bring their share of joys and disappointments. To combat the disappointment that I feel when my favorites don’t win, I decided to hand out my own awards to the films that I believe are most worthy. Here you will find my favorites of 2013 in categories ranging from Best Actor to Best Original Song. Agree with my choices? What categories would you do differently? Let me know in the comments below!

With its catchy and enjoyable original songs and its tale of beautiful princes and princesses, Disney’s Frozen effectively mixes classic Disney sensibilities with the current wave of computer animation. There are certain aspects that will feel familiar to some viewers but, in a way, this only adds to the film’s old school Disney charm. Add in a cast of endearing characters and some of the most sumptuous looking digital animation ever put to the screen and you’ve got a bona fide Disney classic on your hands.

Frozen is the tale of two sisters who are born into royalty in the Kingdom of Arendelle. Anna (Kristen Bell) is the younger of the two and normal in practically every way, while her older sister Elsa (Idina Menzel) was born with the ability to control and create ice and snow. Fearing that this power will be a danger to others, Elsa locks herself away in her room, not even exiting after the untimely death of her parents. She stays locked up until her coronation day, on which she will finally be crowned queen. But she is unable to keep her powers a secret during the ceremony and she inadvertently turns all of Arendelle into a frozen wasteland. After Elsa banishes herself to the mountains, Anna realizes that she must find her sister, in order to restore Arendelle to its former beauty.

There are plenty of supporting characters as well and they include the ravishing Prince Hans, the rugged but lovable Kristoff and the upbeat and cheerful snowman Olaf. Olaf is sure to get big laughs among young children, but he will also score many guffaws from adults as well. This is a film that is just as enjoyable for adults as it is for kids and much of this is due to the humor and emotional bonds that stem from the characters. Every character is instantly likeable and a late revelation about a certain character takes what feels like a standard third act and turns it on its head.

But what really elevates Frozen into a memorable Disney achievement is the fantastic music. The original score by Christophe Beck is great and ranks among the year’s best, but it is the original songs by Kristin Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez that are truly memorable. It has been years since a film has had a series of songs this good. From Olaf’s hilarious “In Summer”, to the incredibly catchy “Fixer Upper” to the emotional “Do you want to Build a Snowman” and “Let it Go”, every song hits like a classic Disney tune. Picking a favorite from such a great lineup will be near impossible.

There are some clichéd plot points, such as the need to find “True Love’s Kiss”, but the film almost feels comforting in this familiarity. The voice acting is great, particularly from Josh Gad as Olaf, and the animation is so superb and crisp that you can make out individual details, such as the freckles on Anna’s face. This is the best animated film of the year and it deserves to become a hit this Holiday Season. It’s pure Disney magic.